Can αδελφοί refer to cousins?

Can αδελφοί refer to cousins?

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Matthew 13:55-56a (ESV)

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?

SBLGNT

οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Σίμων καὶ Ἰούδας; καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ οὐχὶ πᾶσαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰσιν;

I have heard it said that this passage may refer to cousins rather than brothers and sisters.1

BDAG

αδελφός: 1 a male from the same womb as the reference person, brother.

Within this entry, though there is some text relevant to my question that I’m having a hard time understanding (I have expanded abbreviations for easier reading):

passages like Gen 13:8; 14:14; 24:48; 29:12; Lev 10:4; 1 Ch 9:6 do not establish the meaning ‘cousin’ for αδελφός; they only show that in rendering the Hebrew אח αδελφός is used loosely in isolated cases to designate masculine relatives of various degrees.

The example texts here are instances where αδελφός is used in the LXX to translate אח when it applies to a relationship obviously outside the definition above. I don’t understand why that use would be possible when translating Hebrew but not otherwise. Also, I’m guessing these Nazarenes were speaking something other than Greek, so it seems like Matthew (or whoever translated Matthew if you prefer) was, in fact, translating some Semitic language.

Is there evidence that Matthew (and the bystanders he quoted) intended ἀδελφοὶ and ἀδελφαὶ to carry a meaning limited to “from the same womb”?

or

Might it refer to cousins?2



1. I realize there is a broader use of the word αδελφοί that is made explicit by Jesus (Matthew 12:48-50), was evidently already in the Jewish vernacular (Acts 2:37, etc.), is used extensively by Paul, and has a parallel usage in English, both inside and outside the church. In English this use is obviously distinct, and the passage above would not be confused for the broader sense of “brother” amidst the specific familial references and toward the point being made. I suspect the same is true in Greek. This is the second definition in BDAG and is not the topic of this question.


2. Feel free to discuss half brothers as well. This just seemed less likely to me to have a clear answer in the grammar.

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